There are at least 100 different versions of the Christian Bible alone, but Fox Nation (or, as I like to call them, Idiot Nation) apparently does not know that:

Yesterday morning, Pres. Obama addressed the Great Annual National Public Display of Religious Piety in Washington, D.C. The GANPDRP (aka The National Prayer Breakfast), as we all know (or should, as informed political junkies), is sponsored by The Family, an organization that has been associated with support for venomous anti-gay legislation in Uganda (which would make it a capital offense to be openly gay...

What follows is a notable dressing down of Washington from Kuwait, a nation America saved from Saddam in the First Gulf War. And it starkly shows how frightened Gulf Arab leaders are about events in Egypt. In all the years we’ve been translating articles from Kuwait, in particular by Al-Seyassah editor-in-chief Ahmad Al-Jarallah, I recall nothing so strongly critical of American policy. It is a staunch...

In this age when Internet has extensively intruded our public and private space, a literary event last evening held at the Alliance Française, New Delhi, marked a wonderful start to a new forum “Written Word, Etc.” A packed auditorium comprising young students as well as elderly folks, were in for a memorable treat. They listened with rapt attention the celebrated Indian author Vikram Seth in...

Does it make any sense for the Iranian regime to encourage ‘people power’ uprisings across the Arab world, only months after a its own sham election and the suppression of its own people? Sensible or not, this article from Iran’s state-controlled Tehran Times encourages Arabs in Egypt and elsewhere to continue to rise up against their oppressive rulers, but warns them not to play into the...

At least the political blame game first chapter is closed in the investigations of accused Ft. Hood killer Maj. Nidal Hasan. Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins determined from their investigation that the FBI and Pentagon committed a “string of failures” knowing Hasan was communicating with an Islamist extremist, his peers describing him as a “ticking time bomb” and his Army superiors...

Update: 11:00 ET, Feb 4 With signs of fracturing within Egypt’s ruling elite, hundreds of thousands of people packed Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on Friday, chanting slogans, bowing in prayer and waving Egyptian flags to press a largely peaceful campaign for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak. Read more here UPDATE: 19:00 ET The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is discussing a plan...

When it comes to Egypt, is it time for the United States to stop hedging its bets? According to columnist Thomas Spang of Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten, without actively asserting its waning influence, Washington risks the worst imaginable outcome for the Western world: an Egypt governed by Muslim fundamentalists. For the Salzburger Nachrichten, Thomas Spang writes in part: A sober analysis of the...

Call it a Cold War hangover or a broken deal with the Devil – but according to columnist Stefan Kornelius of Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Egypt shows that the era of paying off potentates regardless of how they treat their citizens and mistaking stagnation for stability is over, and the will of the people will no longer be denied. For the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Stefan Kornelius writes in part: For...

Egypt’s Army has told protesters to go home and is reportedly trying to evacuate Tahrir Square. Jerusalem Post: Pro-Mubarak protesters retreat as anti-gov’t rioters charge: 630 injured, three killed in clashes; machine guns are fired and Molotov cocktails hurled from surrounding buildings; protesters target Egyptian Museum.

Jerusalem Post: Machine Guns Fired Into Tahrir Square. 600 reported injured, one killed in clashes; Pro-Mubarak rioters hurl Molotov Cocktails, rocks at opposition from surrounding buildings; protesters target Egyptian Museum. Tahrir Square. Machine gunfire was heard on Wednesday night, shortly after Egyptian state television ordered all demonstrators to evacuate Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square. Al...

Latest from the BBC (18:09 ET) The struggle for control of the future of Egypt continued in Cairo. Egyptian anti-government protesters remain entrenched in Cairo’s main square, after at least three people were killed in clashes with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak. Hundreds of people were also wounded as rival groups fought pitched battles in and around Tahrir Square, in the worst violence in nine...

MSNBC: Yemen’s president: I won’t extend term or pass power to son. U.S.-allied Saleh says he’ll stand down in 2013; ‘day of rage’ protest looms. SANAA, Yemen — The Yemeni president told parliament Wednesday that he would not seek another term in office or hand power to his son — an apparent reaction to protests in this impoverished nation that have been inspired by Tunisia’s...

NPR: Update at 1:40 p.m. ET. Mubarak To Speak Tonight; Pledge To Not Seek Re-Election? Reuters writes that “Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak will give a speech on Tuesday after at least 1 million people rallied across the country clamouring for him to step down, Al Arabiya television said. There was no official confirmation.” Reuters also quotes Al Arabiya as saying “Mubarak will announce...

Just as George W. Bush differed with his father on many issues, now Barbara Bush is at odds with her father, George W. Bush, on a major social issue. The New York Times announces that “Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will endorse same-sex marriage on Tuesday, publicly breaking ranks with a father who, as president, pushed for a constitutional amendment banning such unions.” Ms....

If House Republicans have their way, rape will only be rape if it involves physical force. Why are they trying to do this? One word: Abortion.

Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of Western civilization – or to be more accurate – non-Muslim civilization? According to columnist Hussein Shariatmadari of Iran’s state-run Kayhan newspaper, ancient prophecies of the Prophet Muhammad are now coming true – and there is little or nothing that Washington can do to avert the end. For Kahyan, Hussein Shariatmadari writes in part: In...

More prison breaks freeing more criminals and terrorists. Mubarak’s perch wobbles a bit. Some Updates Via Twitter: nytimes The New York Times Despite new crackdown on Al Jazeera, live stream still showing protest scenes (lo-rez) from Cairo. http://bit.ly/VGnK 2 minutes ago » AmelahG Amy Greenbaum RT @BorowitzReport: #Mubarak says that he got the idea of eliminating all the news from CNN. #Egypt #Jan25//...

Think about it. Much looting in Egypt. Police stations are being ransacked and weapons + ammo stolen. There has been a massive jailbreak freeing, among others, terrorists. I suspect much of the looted weaponry is falling into the hands of terrorists. The populace is not happy with Mubarak’s concessions (VP, new PM) but doesn’t care for anarchy endangering their homes, families and shops either....

Tibetan religious leader in-exile “Karmapa” Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who is likely to replace the Dalai Lama as the world symbol of Tibetan Buddhism and icon of Tibetan aspirations, is now surrounded with a serious controversy. Police in India have raided his monastery near Dharamsala, and allegedly recovered foreign and Indian currency worth nearly Rs 70 million. Dorje, now 25, is the spiritual head...

As we watch the growing protests in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities the question we have to ask is what direction the protests will take and where Egypt is headed in the coming years. I think we all would agree that any sort of Western-style democracy is not likely in the near future. Egypt literally has thousands of years of history with little or no experience with democracy, so...

UPDATE: I’ve been watching CNN & MSNBC. The entire country is now under a curfew which no-one seems to be observing. Protests are not just in Cairo but also in Alexandria, Suez and several provinces. Reportedly the Muslim Brotherhood joined today’s protests. A Cairo police station is under attack and the police are using live ammo. Lots of stuff is on fire. The military has not cracked down...

MSNBC: CAIRO — Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was under house arrest Friday, Egyptian security officials said, after Cairo became a scene of violent chaos with tens of thousands of anti-government protesters clashing with police. The demonstrations were a major escalation in the ongoing rallies against President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. One of the country’s leading pro-democracy advocates,...

Today marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp—a day that has been designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. About three weeks ago I posted a link to an article about a letter written by a Jewish relative as he was being transported in a cattle train from the Netherlands to his death in Auschwitz. The article ended with the words: A letter...

As a resident of Temecula, Calif., I am ashamed of the ignorant and uniformed protesters who dealt venom based on fear conjured in their own twisted minds. The lone, sane, argument is, indeed, traffic congestion. Hopefully, this development will play out and someday all will learn the truth. (Courtesy Reuters file photo)